The Observatory for the Protection
of Human Rights Defenders, a partnership of FIDH and the World Organisation
Against Torture (OMCT), has received new information and requests your urgent
intervention in the following situation in Sudan.

New information:

The Observatory has been informed by
the African Center for Justice and Peace Studies (ACJPS) about the ongoing
arbitrary detention of Mr. Osman Salih, lawyer, Mr. Salih Mahmoud Osman,
Vice-Chairperson of the Darfur Bar Association and Mr. Amjed Fareed, blogger
and human rights defender as well as of the release of Mohammed Abdulmonim,
freelance journalist.

According to the information
received, on March 11, 2018, Mr. Osman Salih was transferred to the police
hospital in Al Obeid due to high blood sugar levels causing stomach problems.
His wife was able to visit him although only in presence of a National
Intelligence Security Service (NISS) official who keeps him under constant
surveillance. It has been reported that Mr. Osman Salih is diabetic and only had
access to his medicine after three days in detention.

Mr. Osman Salih has been arrested by
the NISS on January 10, 2018 along with seven other individuals from the
Alhuria Square in Al Obeid, North Kordofan as they participated in a peaceful
protest against the increase in prices of basic commodities. Subsequently, Mr.
Osman Salih was brought to the NISS offices in Al Obeid together with the other
individuals. The NISS in Al Obeid carried out the arrest and took them to their
offices.

On January 15, 2018, the security
committee of Al Obeid ordered that Mr. Osman Salish would be detained under the
emergency law for six months and transferred from the NISS offices to Al Obeid
prison. Two applications for family visits were denied.

Moreover, Mr. Salih Mahmoud Osman,
Vice-Chairperson of the Darfur Bar Association and Mr. Amjed Fareed, blogger
and human rights defender have been respectively detained since February 1, and
January 18, 2018. Yet no information about charges levelled against them have
been disclosed to date.

The Observatory underlines that
these arrests and detentions occur in reaction to nation-wide demonstrations
that began on January 6, 2018 and were set off by the announcement of Sudan’s
2018 budget and the lifting of subsidies and measures, effectively tripling
Sudan’s U.S. dollar exchange rate and increasing the price of basic
commodities. Sudanese authorities have carried out a campaign of massive
arrests and detentions, including political party leaders, journalists,
students, human rights defenders and other individuals for their involvement in
the protests[1].
The police and the NISS
have used excessive force to disperse and arrest protesters, including the
reported use of tear gas and beatings with sticks and water hose pipes[2].

The Observatory strongly condemns
and reiterates its concerns over the ongoing arbitrary detention of Mr. Salih
Mahmoud Osman, Mr. Amjed Fareed and Mr. Osman Salih, and recalls that this
situation significantly enhances their vulnerability to ill-treatment.

The Observatory urges Sudanese
authorities to immediately and unconditionally release them, as their detention
is arbitrary and clearly aims at punishing their peaceful and legitimate human
rights activities. In the meantime, the Observatory urges Sudanese authorities
to guarantee their physical and psychological integrity and to respect their
right to a fair trial, including unhindered access to their lawyers and
families.

Background information:

On January 16, 2018, Ms. Nahid
Jabrallah and Ms. Amel Habani were arrested in Khartoum as they were taking
part in such peaceful protests. Both were detained by the NISS at the Omdurman
Women’s Prison, in Khartoum. Moreover, Ms. Nahid Jabrallah was detained
incommunicado since her arrest despite particularly delicate health conditions
as she was involved in a car accident prior to her arrest.

Acts of ill-treatment against Ms.
Amel Habani have been reported as she was allegedly beaten with an electric rod
during interrogation. On January 29, 2018, she was allowed a visit from her
mother and her two children in the presence of NISS agents but was denied a
visit from her husband and did not have access to her lawyer while detained. A
constitutional appeal contesting the lawfulness of her detention was filed on
February 5, 2018 on her behalf against the Government of Sudan and the NISS and
is still pending to date.

On January 17, 2018, Ms. Rawa Jaafar
Bakhit and Mr. Mohamed Abdallah Aldouma were arrested as they were taking part
in other protests in Omdurman. Mr. Mohamed Abdallah Aldouma was detained at
Shalla prison, in North Darfur, where he was transferred on January 26.

On January 18, 2018, Mr. Amjed
Fareed was arrested from his home in Khartoum and has since been detained
incommunicado within the NISS premises in Khartoum.

On January 31, 2018, Ms. Hanan
Hassan Khalifa was detained in Khartoum Bahri at a police/NISS checkpoint in
the main street targeting the people heading to join a protest and was further
detained incommunicado the Omdurman Women’s Prison, in Khartoum.

On the same day, Mr. Ahmed Jadeen
and Mr. Mohammed Abdulmonim were arrested in Khartoum Bahri while they were
covering protests. Both journalists had been monitoring and documenting cases
of detainees in connection with the protests. They are being detained at the
NISS political section in Khartoum Bahari.

On February 1, 2018, Mr. Salih
Mahmoud Osman was arrested from his office in Khartoum and has been detained
incommunicado within the NISS premises in Khartoum since.

On February 12, 2018, Ms. Rawa Jaafar
Bakhit was released from the Omdurman Women’s Prison, in Khartoum where she had
been detained incommunicado since January 17, 2018.

On February 18, 2018, Ms. Nahid
Jabrallah, Ms. Amel Habani and Ms. Hanan Hassan Khalifa were released following
a NISS press conference at Kober Prison in Khartoum Bahari, where they had been
transferred earlier on the same day for that occasion. All three were
previously held at the Omdurman Women’s Prison, in Khartoum where they had been
detained by the NISS. Ms. Nahid Jabrallah and Ms. Amel Habani had been arrested
in Khartoum on January 16, 2018 while they were taking part in peaceful
protests. Ms. Hanan Hassan Khalifa had been arrested on January 31, 2018, in
Khartoum Bahri at a police/NISS checkpoint in the main street targeting the
people heading to join a protest. Ms. Nahid Jabrallah and Ms. Hanan Hassan
Khalifa were detained incommunicado and acts of ill-treatment against Ms. Amel
Habani had been reported during her interrogation.

On February 19, 2018, Mr. Mohamed Abdallah
Aldouma was released from Kober Prison where he was transferred three hours
before from Shalla prison, North Darfur, after more than a month of arbitrary
incommunicado detention.

On February 25, 2018, Mr. Ahmed
Jadeen was released.

Actions requested:

Please write to the authorities of
Sudan asking them to:

i.Guarantee
the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. Salih Mahmoud Osman, Mr. Amjed
Fareed and Mr. Osman Salih, as well as of all human rights defenders in Sudan;

ii.Immediately
and unconditionally release Mr. Salih Mahmoud Osman, Mr. Amjed Fareed and Mr.
Osman Salih, and all detained human rights defenders in Sudan as their
arbitrary detention is merely aimed at punishing them for their legitimate
human rights activities;

iii.In
the meantime, guarantee the right to due process and fair trial of Mr. Salih
Mahmoud Osman, Mr. Amjed Fareed and Mr. Osman Salih, including the unhindered
access to their lawyers and family;

iv.Carry
out an immediate, independent and impartial investigation into alleged
above-mentioned acts of ill-treatment against Ms. Amel Habani in order to bring
all those responsible before a competent tribunal in accordance with
international standards;

i.Put
an end to all forms of harassment, including at the judicial level, against Mr.
Osman Salih, Mr. Mohamed Abdallah Aldouma, Mr. Salih Mahmoud Osman, Ms. Rawa
Jaafar Bakhit, Mr. Ahmed Jadeen, Mr. Mohammed Abdulmonim, Ms. Nahid Jabrallah,
Ms. Amel Habani and Ms. Hanan Hassan Khalifa, and all human rights defenders in
Sudan so that they are able to carry out their work without hindrance or fear
of reprisals;

ii.Conform
with the provisions of the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, adopted by
the General Assembly of the United Nations on December 9, 1998, especially
Articles 1, 6(c) and 12.2; and

iii.More
generally, ensure in all circumstances the respect for human rights and
fundamental freedoms in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights and with international and regional human rights instruments ratified by
Sudan.

Please also write to the diplomatic
missions or embassies of Sudan in your respective country.

***

Geneva-Paris, March 13, 2018

Kindly inform us of any action
undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.

The Observatory for the Protection
of Human Rights Defenders (the Observatory) was created in 1997 by the World
Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and the FIDH. The objective of this
programme is to intervene to prevent or remedy situations of repression against
human rights defenders. OMCT and FIDH are both members of ProtectDefenders.eu,
the European Union Human Rights Defenders Mechanism implemented by
international civil society.